Things to do in Dublin, Ireland

A couple of weeks ago, Steve and I met our friends, Randi and Adam, in Dublin, Ireland. I have loads of pictures, so I'm going to try to pick just a few from each occasion. Here is a look at some of the things we did while we were there (Thanks to Randi and Adam for some of the pictures):

This was FANTASTIC. We heard so many stories.

The storyteller was really good, and she sang songs also... very well. The food was great! We had a wonderful time. It was well worth the €46 per person! Here is a link to their website. We heard these great stories from Irish folklore:

• Balor of the Evil Eye
• Brian O'Donnell of Corbally
• The Soul Cages
• Master and Man

The most feared of the faeries is of course, the pooka. If you've had a bit too much to drink and are caught walking home alone, the pooka, often in the form of a horse, will offer you a ride. He takes you around causing havoc, knocking over fences, and getting into other forms of trouble just before he drops you off in some place unknown to you! Steve and Adam of course were not afraid, but thrilled to have an excuse. ;) This became a long-running joke amongst us. "Don't let the pooka get you!"

We stayed at the Grafton Capital Hotel. It was cheap and in a great location. However, they don't give you many toiletries. There are two pump bottles: one by the sink and one hanging in the shower. They are to serve as your hand wash, face wash, body wash, and shampoo. No thanks. I have sensitive skin, and one of the things I am picky about is my hair products. I bought my own stuff after we unpacked. The room was spacious. However, the hotel was attached to a night club. Yep, you read that correctly. Our nights were spent listening to, "doo ooom, doo oom, doo oom..." I'm a light sleeper. It was not fun. The bed was also super uncomfortable. Honestly, I probably would have endured better if I had not had a sore neck and back (I could barely turn my head) and allergies that were waging war on my body. I really needed some decent sleep to get well, and it just wasn't happening there.

Short and to the point...

This was my hair dryer. That hose is supposed to be attached. I had to hold it together. It was hot. It was unpleasant.

Nice, old pub we went to for a drink.

I was making faces at Steve because he always takes several pictures as we are walking to get into our photo pose.

Dublin castle is pretty cool, but it has nothing on the castles I've seen in Scotland.

Exhibit going on while we were visiting the castle. These artists were amazingly talented!

Walking along the River Liffey

A great place for breakfast, "Queen of Tarts"

Good place to eat lunch and have a beer. Another good place to eat is Bobo's Gourmet Irish Burgers. Oh man, so good!

I chose cider.. hehe

We went on a musical pub crawl one night. It was really cool. I highly recommend it. They took us to a few different pubs and told us a bit about each pub's history. They talked about traditional Irish music and played very well. We were only at each place long enough for one beer, which was really nice because then people weren't getting completely pissed (in Scotland means drunk).

Our pub crawl leaders said that locals call this the "stiletto of the ghetto"... haha. It's actually called the "Monument of Light" and referred to as the "Dublin Spire" as well. Personally, I prefer the stiletto.

 

Here is a little taste of the music!

Trying to get a picture of all of us. :o)

Mmmmm... Irish coffee

Randi and Adam ran a half marathon while we were there. Pretty cool experience they said.

Aren't they cute in their Texas running outfits?

Steve and I did not run. We went sight seeing.

And this was one of our stops.

The Guinness Storehouse is HUGE

This was taken at the top!

Randi and Adam visited while we were on our way to Dublin.

Look! I'm in an advert

The windows tell you where you are looking.